SANTANDER has warned consumers to be wary of online side hustles as experts say “January is a perfect storm” for scams.
Santander UK said scammers home in on those looking to make some extra cash to cover the costs of Christmas and bridge the gap until January payday.
Data from the bank shows that more than £95,000 was stolen from customers between October and December 2025 by criminals offering money for completing “tasks”, for example by liking or sharing social media influencer videos.
Almost a third, £31,000, of the amounts stolen were from customers “recruited” to like videos on TikTok, with scammers often offering small payments to begin with to hook consumers in.
Customers aged between 20 and 55 are most commonly targeted, and Santander has warned that criminals often use legitimate company names such as Allianz, Starfish and Indeed to gain people’s trust.
Chris Ainsley, Head of Fraud Strategy at Santander UK said: “January payday still feels a long way off for many, as the costs of Christmas start to roll in, others use this time to reevaluate their finances and start saving for the year ahead. Looking for ways to make some extra cash provides scammers with an opportunity to pounce.
“Be wary of any jobs that seem too good to be true, promising returns for simply ‘liking’ social media content. Start the new year alert – even if you’ve earned a couple of pounds from a few clicks before – any requests to pay an up-front fee to take on a job should be treated as a scam.”
Perfect storm for scams
Marty Bauer, Retail and Ecommerce Expert at Omnisend, said January is the most dangerous time for scams.
He added: “January is a perfect storm for scams like these. Our research shows that nearly three in ten people in the UK already have a side hustle, largely to top up their income as living costs rise. After Christmas, when payday feels far away, people are understandably more open to online opportunities, and this is when scammers strike.
“Jobs promising money for simply ‘liking’ or ‘sharing’ content should raise immediate red flags. Genuine income streams are driven by easy access to selling on marketplaces like eBay, Vinted and Depop, not quick-click schemes. Even if your side hustle is just selling your old clothes, it still requires hard work.
“Any role that asks for an upfront payment, pushes conversations onto Telegram, or hides behind the name of a well-known brand without verifiable contact details should be treated with extreme caution. Side hustlers typically earn modest amounts at first, often under £500 a month, rather than the instant, guaranteed returns promised by scammers.”
January is peak season
Kate Underwood, Founder at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, shared some examples of popular scams.
She continued: “If a ‘job’ asks you to pay to get paid, it’s not a side hustle, it’s a scam with a ring light. These “task” scams groom your bank account. They’ll pay you a couple of quid for liking videos so you relax, then comes the sting. ‘Top up to unlock earnings.’ ‘Pay a fee to withdraw.’ ‘Upgrade your account.’ Nope. Real work pays you. It does not invoice you.
“January is peak season for the boring traps too. You buy a car, google ‘car tax’, click the first link (often sponsored), it looks official, and you’ve signed up to a third-party subscription. Money keeps dripping out and you still are not taxed.
“Then you find out the hard way. Yes, it’s rife this time of year. People are skint, stressed, and rushing. For anything official, start on GOV.UK. If payments will not stop, tell your bank to cancel the continuous payment authority immediately.”
Kundan Bhaduri, Entrepreneur at London-based The Kushman Group, said people need to be wary despite their lack of cash during the cost of living crisis
He added: “The reason these scams are thriving is that the cost of living crisis has eroded our collective common sense. People are so desperate to plug the hole in their finances left by Christmas that they are willing to believe that clicking a mouse can generate a full time income.
“My advice is to stop looking for magical shortcuts. Real wealth is boring and slow. If an opportunity promises high returns for zero brainpower, delete the message and get back to work.”
Stop looking for magical shortcuts
Colette Mason, Author & AI Consultant at London-based Clever Clogs AI, said criminals use AI now.
She continued: “These evolving schemes don’t rely on obvious lies, but on believable systems. Criminals use AI to borrow the credible look and feel of legitimate online work offers, so engagements that start with simple tasks, liking videos, rating products, leaving reviews or boosting app metrics, feel routine and harmless. That’s what makes them so effective.
“One common pattern seen by fraud experts is a scam that begins with an unsolicited message or ad promising remote work and steady pay lead victims to pay for job-related fees, unlock more tasks or even transfer money via cryptocurrency to access their ‘profits’, which never materialise.
“Criminals are also using gamified structures, organising supposed tasks into levels, reassuring victims that more money is just a few extra steps away, and are increasingly cloning professional language and branded recruitment lingo so the whole thing reads like a normal side-gig rather than a red flag.”
Rohit Parmar-Mistry, Founder at Burton-on-Trent-based Pattrn Data, advised people that shortcuts are too good to be true.
He added: “January is the ‘golden quarter’ for scammers because financial anxiety shuts down our critical thinking faculties. What’s alarming is the industrial scale of these operations. Scammers are now using the same ‘scale-up’ tactics as tech startups, using automation to blast out thousands of messages waiting for just a 1% hit rate.
“The use of ‘task’ scams is particularly clever because it mimics the gig economy we’ve all been sold. We’re told we can work from anywhere, be our own boss, and monetise our spare time. These criminals are simply hacking that narrative. My advice is simple: stop looking for shortcuts.
“In the real world, value is created by solving problems, not mindlessly clicking links. If an opportunity promises high returns for zero brainpower, delete the message. Your bank balance will thank you.”
